Finally after a bitter struggle a memory surfaces. It is a memory of a dark object, drifting in space like a black coffin swimming amongst the stars. As if viewing the object through a view-screen, the image switches to a higher magnification which reveals the dark object is the casing of a photon-torpedo.
There is something wrong though, this memory is not real. It does not quite belong here. Somehow she senses the memory is not hers.
"You are witnessing what was a new beginning, a re-birth." The voice had returned after what seemed a lifetime.
"Now witness the present. Witness what will be the end of a remarkable but futile journey."
Unable to resist any longer, Janeway's eyes fluttered open.
In cargo bay three, O'Brien and Bashir awaited the last member of the Voyager crew to be teleported over. They had completed converting the cargo bay into a temporary Borg regeneration chamber. O'Brien had constructed the device while frequently making comments about the 'Bloody Borg' and using other such colourful metaphors to describe exactly what he felt about this race.
Once finished, Bashir scanned the chamber confirming it was fit for purpose based on his limited knowledge of Seven of Nine's unique physiology.
Moments later, Seven beamed directly into the cargo bay accompanied by two security officers.
As the two humans introduced themselves and the one designated O'Brien nervously explained how he put the regeneration chamber together, Seven found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying. She was confused. She felt empty and alone. It was a similar feeling to one she had experienced when she was first disconnected from the Borg collective. It also reminded her of the time she had run Voyager alone for several weeks while the entire crew was in stasis as they passed through a dangerous nebula.
To Seven, the Voyager crew had become a symbolic collective to the ex-drone. In certain respects (although she would never openly admit as such) she viewed Janeway as a symbolic Queen.
By visualising the Captain and her crew in such a fashion, Seven had used familiar concepts to help her adapt to being an individual. Now suddenly this had all been taken away and she was at a loss as to why. As with Chakotay, she could not recall anything which would explain the missing crew or Voyager's miraculous appearance in the Alpha Quadrant.
Seven had attempted to adapt to the problem by increasing the production of Nanoprobes and using her cortical implants to stimulate her brain's memory centres. Her attempt had proven futile.
Seven realised O'Brien had stopped talking and was looking at her expectantly. His body language and facial expression indicated he was awaiting a response. She quickly recalled a summary of his speech, concluding he was awaiting some comment on the regeneration chamber.
"It is adequate."
"Don't you want to, err, try it out or something?" asked O'Brien.
"I do not require a regeneration cycle for another six hours," Seven replied.
O'Brien seemed a little disappointed. "Well, let me know if it needs adjusting or anything."
Seven noticed the one called Bashir was staring at her. Not in the way O'Brien or any of the security guards had. They viewed her with a mixture of curiosity and fear. His scrutiny was something altogether different. His pupil dilation indicated sexual attraction but she was still inexperienced in such matters, plus she was trying to cope with the current situation so was unsure.
"What is your function?" Seven asked Bashir.
"He's the station's doctor." replied O'Brien, noting that Bashir was having trouble answering for himself.
"Yes!" said Bashir, finally recovering. "I am a doctor. Hello!"
Seven replied with the first relevant comment she could think of. "You have hair."
"Yes, thank you for noticing," said Bashir as he self-consciously brushed his hand through his hair.
O'Brien rolled his eyes and grabbed Bashir by the arm. "Come on Julian, we're finished here."
He virtually dragged Bashir towards the cargo bay doors.
"If you need anything, anything at all, then just let me know!" Bashir managed to shout out as they left. Once the doors closed, O'Brien released his grip.
"What was all that about?"
"What do you mean?" Bashir said innocently.
"I mean, acting all silly like some first year cadet with a crush on the teacher. It was disgusting!"
"I was not! replied Bashir with an air of indignation. "I was merely fascinated by the medical aspects of her Borg implants."
"Oh yeah! I noticed how you were fascinated by Seven's 'implants' all right. Just you wait until I tell Ezri."
"You wouldn't!" Bashir's face turned ashen.
"I would, unless you made it worth my while not to."
O'Brien's evil smile indicated he would indeed tell Ezri and enjoy watching Bashir bear the brunt of a Dax mood. Bashir wondered how many free holodeck sessions it would take to guarantee O'Brien's silence.
"Why patrol an empty ship?" said Security Officer Chris Crum, as he wandered around the deserted corridors of Voyager.
Crum answered his own question. "Because that is your job you big numpty!"
'Crum was not to reason why, Crum was but to do or die.' That was the message the academy had drilled into him day after day. If a commanding officer ordered you to blindly run single-handed into a dark cave to investigate some horrible, inhuman screaming noises then you didn't argue. You replied, "Yes, sir, how fast sir!"
At his graduation from the academy, his so-called friends had presented him with an old-fashioned red security uniform as a joke. This had become an iconic symbol at the academy, one which represented the high casualty rates of security officers during the early years of the Federation.
They even had this ongoing bet, a kind of a Crum dead pool. Each held a range of future Stardates. If Crum was KIA on an assignment the person who held this date won themselves a large amount of latinum thanks to Crum's demise.
Crum didn't mind their taunts; he even quite liked the idea of the bet. He saw it as a challenge, one which encouraged him to survive. If he turned up alive at the end of his tour of duty he'd collect the entire pot!
What he did mind was boring assignments like this one, especially when he patrolled alone. Plus, he had to admit, walking around these empty corridors was a little creepy. Starships were simply not designed to be empty, it felt unnatural.
Crum's unease grew worse the more he patrolled Voyager. He concluded the ship had all the charm and atmosphere of a tomb. Several times now Crum thought he'd heard someone or something moving around but his investigations had proven otherwise. Crum concluded his boredom combined with an overactive imagination was driving him insane.
A few yards ahead the door to one of the crew quarters suddenly opened causing Crum to jump. Instinctively he quickly drew his phaser but no-one emerged from the room. He stood silently for nearly a minute. The door remained stubbornly open.
"Hello. Is anybody there?" asked Crum, painfully aware how corny it sounded.
There was no reply. Crum briefly considered reporting the incident but quickly dismissed the idea. He did not want to appear foolish if the issue was simply a faulty door sensor.
Cautiously he made his way forward seeking a position which would allow him to gain a clear view of the room without presenting himself as too much of a target. The entryway was clear so Crum stealthily made his way in, sweeping the phaser from left to right. Nothing, just a simply storage room totally devoid of anything remotely interesting.
Sighing with relief Crum holstered his phaser. Mentally kicking himself for being so on edge he left the room and continued his patrol. Crum had walked only a few feet forward when the door hissed shut behind him. He spun around, his phaser drawn once more. Still, there was no sign of anyone. Suddenly the door opened again, then closed, then opened and again. Crum could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Deciding his patrol of this deck was over, Crum made his way towards the turbo-lift. Risking a glance over his shoulder he still could not see anybody but door continued its opening and closing shenanigans. His normal walking pace evolved into a rather brisk walk, which soon became a run. Even though his mind and training told him not to be so foolish his instincts, which had served him so well for so long, were screaming.
By the time he reached the turbo-lift he was running at full speed which nearly causing him to collide with Captain Picard as he exited the lift. Crum prepared for some sort of disciplinary action from the Captain as he desperately tried to formulate a valid reason for running around like a lunatic. To his surprise Picard wandered past as if nothing had happened. Crum sighed in relief. It seemed to him he had just made some sort of miraculous escape twice in succession!
A few moments later, Picard entered Engineering. He had briefly wondered why Mr Crum was in such a rush but as he had more important matters to attend to so he decided to let it go; for now.
Mudd and La'Forge stood over an engineering console, absorbed in their work.
"You have something to show me, Mr La'Forge?"
Geordie jumped slightly. He had been concentrating so much on the data he failed to hear Picard enter the room.
"Yes, Captain, if you take a look at the warp engines you'll soon see the problem we're having."
Picard followed La'Forge over to the warp engines. If this had been the Enterprise Picard would be witnessing the healthy blue glow of the warp core. As it was he was staring at a lifeless, empty core.
"I don't..." Picard stopped short. The warp core had suddenly flickered into life. A few seconds later it flickered and was once again dead.
Picard waited expectantly. He did not have to wait long. Another flicker and the warp core glowed with a dark, pulsating green.
"What is going on here, Commander?"
"My best guess," La Forge said, as he adjusted his tricorder to examine the Warp core through some new filter parameters he had entered, "is that the warp core is in a state of quantum flux. It appears to exist in this dimension in a fused state. However when you see the flicker effect," As if on queue the warp drive flickered briefly before stabilising as a warp drive which was covered in what appeared to be throbbing organic veins. "It switches to a warp core which works on different principles."
The warp core flickered again before returning to its lifeless state.
"Are you saying we are witnessing technology from other dimensions?" asked Picard.
"We already know at least on other dimension exists, the one we call the Mirror Universe. Theoretically there are an endless number of alternate dimensions. Somehow this warp drive is tapping into a number of these but the effect appears unstable.
"Is the ship in Danger?
"Unknown Captain. The affected area seems to be localised to the warp core itself. All our readings show no sign of the field expanding, or collapsing for that matter."
"Nevertheless, arrange from some portable shield generators to be beamed over from the Enterprise. I want a level ten shield around engineering at all times."
"Aye, sir."
The warp core pulsed into life once again.
Picard glanced briefly at the dark red, swirling colours. "Any ideas what's causing this?"
"There's little doubt in my mind some sort of experimental procedure has been performed on the warp engines. Exactly what or how this has been achieved is going to take time to decipher. However I have noticed one aspect which remains constant no matter what state the core is in."
"Which is?"
La'Forge called up some readings on his tricorder. "We've detected trace amounts of organic residue in and around the warp core. I checked our computer but could find no matching records in the Federation database."
"Could it be from some sort of Delta Quadrant life form?" asked Picard
"That's what we thought, so Mr Mudd has been checking through the Engineering logs for any clues.
"And?" prompted Picard.
Mudd stepped away from the console, motioning Picard over. Mudd and La'Forges silence made Picard fear the worst.
As Picard scanned through the details it was apparent there were sections missing due to data corruption. He'd had the same issue when reviewing Janeway's logs. Even so, Picard soon began to piece together a series of deeply disturbing events which at first surprised, then shocked and finally infuriated him. He now understood why Geordie had been so reluctant to mention this via a communicator and why both officers were now so unsettled.
After ordering the men to continue their investigation, while stressing the importance of keeping this matter quiet for now, Picard exited engineering and headed towards the sickbay. He intended to obtain a brief report from Dr Crusher, along with some quick treatment for his headache before he could compile the initial report for Worf. On the way, he tapped his Comm badge.
"Picard to the Bridge."
"Data here, Captain."
"Have you made any progress restoring the main computer?"
"Negative, Captain, the computer is being…uncooperative."
"Mr Data, I've heard many explanations as to why certain systems are not working, but uncooperative is not usually one of them."
"Nevertheless Captain, I believe this word best describes our situation. All of our diagnostics have so far indicated that the computer is fully operation. It should be responding to our commands but for some unknown reason it is not."
More mystery, more questions and not many answers, thought Picard. "What is your next course of action?"
"Mr Riker thinks we should try things 'the old-fashioned way' and is attempting to bypass the primary protocols by hardwiring the secondary..."
Picard interrupted, "A summary will be sufficient, Mr Data."
There was a slight pause before Data replied, "I believe the term the Commander used was 'giving the computer a kick-start.'
In the background of the comm link, Picard heard the sound of someone yelping in pain.
"Data, what's going on there?"
Data didn't reply straight away.
"Data, report!" Picard said more firmly.
"Sir," answered Data, "the Commander has received a mild electric shock." Picard could hear Riker cursing and swearing in a decidedly non-Starfleet fashion.
"However, he does not appear to have sustained any major damage."
"I'm okay, sir," Riker shouted, "Just a little bruising to my pride, that's all."
Picard couldn't help but smile, but then he suddenly thought of the warp engines.
"Data, La'Forge has discovered the warp core is in a state of quantum flux. It may be something similar is affecting the computer or one of its main sub-systems. I want you to run a complete scan of the ship to verify this. Compare notes with Mr La'Forge. Hopefully we may find a connection which will lead to some answers."
"Aye Sir."
The Captain ended the comm link as he arrived at Voyager's sickbay.
"Captain! I was just trying to contact you," said Dr Crusher.
"I was in communication with the Bridge while on my way here. I'm having a little trouble with a headache, so I thought I'd collect your report in person while receiving a little medical attention." Picard seemed embarrassed by the admission.
"That's odd, Deanna was in here a few minutes ago complaining of a headache."
Picard's instincts fired up. "Has anyone else developed a headache?"
"Not that I'm aware of," Crusher replied. "Besides, once I gave her some Sedamon she said she felt much better."
Picard relaxed again. Two seemingly unrelated headaches was hardly something to get exited about. He did feel a little disappointed though. They had so many questions and not much in the way of answers.
"You said you were trying to contact me. Have you had any luck in activating the EMH?"
"I'm afraid not." Crusher replied.
Great, thought Picard, something else on this ship that refuses to work the way it is supposed to.
"We've only made a few attempts so far," continued Crusher, "but each time we think we've re-initialized the EMH holo-matrix it comes crashing back down again. However we have discovered something I think you should see." Crusher handed Picard a curious device.
"It's the portable emitter Voyager's EMH used. From what I've read it allows him to exist outside sickbay. We discovered it under the chair behind the Doctor's desk."
Picard had of course heard about the portable emitter. It was a piece of 28th Century hardware that every holo-technician in the Federation was desperate to get their hands on, while every psycho-historian wanted it destroyed so as not to corrupt the timeline.
"I was examining it more closely," continued Crusher, as she opened up her tricorder and scanned near the Doctor's desk, "when I detected this."
As she aimed the tricorder to the right of the desk, it beeped suddenly. Picard examined the readings. He was no expert but he recognised humanoid DNA when he saw it.
"As you can see it is human DNA. Further scans show it is residue from human tissue after it was vaporised by a phase."
Any idea who it was?" asked Picard, suddenly not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"Yes," replied Crusher. "We compared the DNA sequence with the records of all the ship's crewmembers and found a match."
Dr Crusher paused and then said, "It was from one of the senior Starfleet staff, a member of the bridge crew. Sir, it appears Harry Kim was killed here."